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1
Starting school (1988)
6.0/10on Open Library
Published
Janet and Allan Ahlberg follow a class of new starters through their first school term, from the morning their parents bring them in to the day they head off to school on their own. Few books show the ordinary run of school life so fully, grumpy days included, which makes it reassuringly honest rather than relentlessly cheerful.
The level of school is never named, so it suits a British reception class, a preschool or a kindergarten equally well. The busy, detailed pages reward slow looking: ask your child which new classmate they would like to sit next to, and why.
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The Kissing Hand (1993)
8.4/10on Open Library
Published
Chester the raccoon is nervous about going to school, so his mother kisses the center of his palm and gives him a way to carry her love with him. The idea moves straight into real life: a kiss on the palm at the school door becomes a private, wordless goodbye that a child can hold on to for the rest of the day.
First published in 1993, it speaks to missing a parent rather than to what happens inside a classroom, so it pairs well with one of the books here that shows the school day itself.
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Wemberly Worried (2000)
9.0/10on Open Library
Published
Wemberly the mouse worries about almost everything, and her first day of school tops the list. Kevin Henkes treats her fretting with warmth and humor rather than alarm, and the turning point is simple and true to life: her teacher introduces her to another girl, Jewel, who is just as worried, and the two find each other.
For a child who is a natural worrier, it shows that plenty of other children feel the same and that a friend makes worries shrink, without suggesting any new things to be afraid of.
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Llama Llama Misses Mama (2009)
10.0/10on Open Library
Published
The goodbye is the hard part, and this book knows it. Mama Llama takes Llama Llama to preschool and introduces him to the teachers, classmates, books and games, then leaves for work, and his excitement wobbles.
Anna Dewdney's short rhyming text suits the youngest starters, and the story follows exactly the shape most children need to hear: the other children show him how much fun school can be, and Mama comes back at the end of the day. Choose it for a child whose real worry is being apart from a parent.
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I am too absolutely small for school (2003)
10.0/10on Open Library
Published
Lola is certain she is far too small for school, and her big brother Charlie has to talk her around, one funny objection at a time. Lauren Child's Charlie and Lola books have a dry wit that parents enjoy as much as children, and this one treats reluctance as something to reason with rather than a problem to fix.
It works especially well for a younger sibling following an older one into school, and for a child who would rather argue than admit to feeling nervous.
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Topsy and Tim start school (2003)
Published
A matter-of-fact walk through a first day: the twins learn where to hang their coats, find out all about the classroom and make new friends. Topsy and Tim have been guiding British children through first experiences since 1960, and this title is practical rather than dramatic, with nothing going badly wrong.
It is the one to choose for a child who copes best by knowing exactly what will happen, step by step, and who likes to rehearse the coat hook and the classroom before seeing the real thing.
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Harry and the dinosaurs go to school (2006)
Published
Harry and his bucketful of toy dinosaurs are excited about his first day, apart from Stegosaurus, who is very nervous. When Harry and the bucket get separated, he is not so sure he likes school after all, until he spots a boy who is so scared he will not even say his name, and sets out to cheer him up.
Ian Whybrow, a former teacher, turns the new starter into the helper, which gives a nervous child a braver role to imagine. Fans of the Harry series will be glad of a familiar face on such a new day.
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Find Spot at Nursery (2021)
Published
For the youngest starters, Eric Hill's yellow puppy goes missing on his first day at nursery, and lifting the flaps shows whether he is in the water play area, the play tent or the sandbox. Along the way the pages cover a whole nursery day, from hanging up his bag to painting and snack time.
The hunt keeps a toddler busy while quietly showing that nursery is full of things to do and nothing to be frightened of. It is the simplest book here, and the flaps make it one a small child will want to read again and again in the weeks before.
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Let's Go to Nursery! (2017)
Published
Bee runs straight off to play while Billy hangs back, shy, until Bee pulls him into her game of mailman. Later Billy helps Bee when she wants a toy someone else has, and when he spills his milk, she shares hers.
Caryl Hart and Lauren Tobia keep the focus on two small children looking after each other, which is a more useful message for a nursery starter than any tour of the building. The bouncy rhyming text is written for preschoolers, and the day ends with both children sleepy and keen to come back.
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Lulu's First Day (2019)
Published
Lulu has already visited her preschool, chosen her outfit and packed her cuddly cat, Dinah, so she knows what to expect and cannot wait. Her mom stays for a while to help her settle, then Lulu picks her own activities and ends up reading in the special reading tent.
Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw's Lulu books follow a little girl who loves books, and this one models the settling-in visit many preschools and nurseries offer. It is the calmest book here, with only a flicker of worry when her mom leaves, which suits a child who is more excited than nervous.
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The King of Kindergarten (2019)
Published
His mom tells him that today he is going to be the King of Kindergarten, and he carries that confidence through each small step of the day: making friends, sharing lunch, playing and getting through it all with his head held high. Vanessa Brantley-Newton's vibrant mixed-media pictures show a Black boy who is proud and thrilled to be there.
This is pure encouragement rather than reassurance, a book by Derrick Barnes that makes the first day sound like a coronation. Read it to a child who needs a confidence boost more than a list of what to expect. In the UK it is published as King of the Classroom.
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Mae's first day of school (2018)
Published
Mae will not go in. Worried that the other children will not like her, that they will all know how to write when she does not, and that she will miss her mother, she climbs a tree outside instead. Then another girl, Rosie, climbs up beside her with worries of her own, and so does a grown-up who turns out to be their teacher, Ms. Pearl.
Kate Berube names the fears children really voice, and when the teacher admits to first-day worries of her own, it shows that adults at school understand. Good for a child with worries they struggle to put into words.
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First Day Jitters (2000)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to get out of bed, dreading her first day at a new school, and only at the very end does it turn out that she is the new teacher. Julie Danneberg's twist works because Judy Love's playful pictures keep Sarah's face out of view until the reveal.
The payoff is a lovely thought for a nervous child: the grown-up at the front of the room might be feeling jittery too. The joke needs a little sophistication, so it suits kindergarten starters better than toddlers heading to nursery.
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School's first day of school (2017)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
It is the first day at the newly built Frederick Douglass Elementary, and the building itself is just as nervous as its students, with only the janitor, who mops and buffs its floors, for company before the doors open. Adam Rex tells the day from the school's point of view, while Christian Robinson's pictures show the crowd of children who come filing in.
Flipping the perspective lets a child see that everyone feels jittery at first, even a school, and the humor keeps it light. It lands best with slightly older starters, around kindergarten age, who will enjoy the joke.
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The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! (2019)
8.7/10on Open Library
Published
Mo Willems' Pigeon insists he does not need school because he already knows everything, then lets slip what is really bothering him: what if he doesn't like it, what if the teacher doesn't like him, what if he learns too much? Children see through the bluster at once, which makes it easy to laugh at worries they might share.
The big speech bubbles beg for a dramatic read-aloud, and the book suits a child who handles nerves with jokes rather than tears.
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First day at Bug School (2016)
Published
Hidden in the long grass at the bottom of the garden is Bug School, and when its tiny bell rings on the first day, the new students appear. Sam Lloyd's bright, bustling pictures are packed with quirky details and insect jokes.
There is no worried hero to identify with, which is exactly its use: it shows the shape of a school day as a cheerful adventure, so a child absorbs what school involves while simply enjoying the bugs. A good pick for a child who switches off at anything that sounds like a lesson about feelings.
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Worry Boots (PB) (2024)
Published
A newer choice, published in 2024: as Connie and her mom make their way to the bus stop, they realize the journey to school is going to be very unusual, because there is something surprising in Connie's shoe. Lisa Thompson wrote it with illustrator Aysha Awwad as a funny, reassuring story about nerves.
It makes the trip to school, rather than the classroom, the place where worries show up, which suits a child whose anxiety peaks on the way there.
More about Worry Boots (PB)18
A Friend for Henry (2019)
Published
Henry, a boy on the autism spectrum, is looking for a friend in Classroom Six, and the story follows his perspective. Jenn Bailey and Mika Song let the reader see the classroom the way Henry does, and the friendship arrives on his own terms rather than through a lesson in being nice.
It was named a 2020 Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book in the young children's category, an award for books that portray the disability experience. Valuable for an autistic child about to start school, and just as useful for classmates who will soon be sharing a room with a Henry of their own.
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